The Show

The Show

Knock, knock!

I waited. Five seconds, fifteen seconds, thirty seconds. No answer.

I knocked again, harder this time. The white-washed door opened mid-action of my thirtieth knock.

"What’s taking you so long?"

"I know." Danny pressed his finger to my lips before I could say more and made a face that would translate as "please, shut up". He walked ahead and tossed the car key at me. I caught it perfectly. "You drive."

Rolling my eyes, I followed him. "Fine."

~

"Wait, which way do I turn?"

We were at a junction, stuck in traffic. Danny had been tapping on his phone quite frequently, probably texting his new girlfriend. "How would I know? You are the one who booked the tickets. You should know the directions." He mumbled without even looking up.

What a reliable best friend. "But I sent you the booking slip. Didn’t you even check it out?"

This time, he looked up with a sheepish smile. "No, I didn’t."

Of course, I forced him to come with me to this music show of the Bald Head Band (silly name, yeah?) because Isa was out of town and the extra ticket would go to waste otherwise.

Danny finally read the ticket slips, and we arrived at the show.

~

There were people everywhere. Like, everywhere. No blank space at all.

As we made our way through the tight crowd, Danny was already pissed off because a guy spilled his drink on him.

About ten minutes later, the band members took their places on the stage, and the show began. Everybody seemed to be vibing along, including me, but Danny. He was just on his phone the whole time. How could he not be hyped up by the music and spirit?

"Hey. Have some fun!" I shouted at him.

"No, thanks." He just mouthed at me.

I rolled my eyes at him before going back to dancing.

~

By the time my favorite song, "Cigarette Baby" started playing, Danny had gone out to look for a restroom.

Suddenly someone came up from behind me, and their hand kept touching my ass in a sneaky way. At first, I thought it was just because of the inevitable closeness, and I moved a bit further. But the hand landed on my ass again. I looked back and saw a guy. He creepily smiled at me and even squeezed my ass. What the freak? Surely this guy was assaulting me.

I pulled myself together and fisted my hand. I was going to hit him, no matter where it landed.

As I spun around, he was already tackled to the ground…by Danny. When did Danny get here? The guy was pinned to the ground, having no choice but to surrender to Danny’s furious blows.

"Danny, stop!" I tried to pull him away from the guy with all my might.

We got kicked out of the show tent later.

~

I’d been anxious the whole time, checking out Danny’s bloody knuckles while driving to Monroe’s Diner. And we were fortunate enough to have found a convenience store nearby. I bought some medical aid stuff and bandaged Danny’s hand while waiting for our food.

"Ouch!" he shrieked and flinched when I pulled the cloth too hard.

"Sorry," I said as I tied it up.

Silence passed as I put the ointments and bandages into their bags.

"Why didn’t you do anything back?" He started, leaning back in the seat with his arms crossed.

I crossed my arms, too. "Oh, I was going to." I took a sip of water. "I was going to punch that pervert in the crotch or something, and then you came in and played the hero!" I made a sarcastic face. "End of story."

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. "That’s my girl." He drawled while reaching out to high-five me.

We made a loud clap that got us some looks from the patrons. Monroe’s Diner sells the finest food in the world. No wonder people come here even in the middle of the night.

About ten minutes later, the food arrived. Monroe’s Diner’s signature burger and a cotton candy milkshake for me, and a box of flavored fries and a carton of banana milk for Danny.

"The food is fire!" I exclaimed with a mouthful of burger, which made Danny chuckle out loud.

~

We were walking to our car in the parking lot while feasting on our drinks. Danny opened the door for me.

"Wait, I feel like I’m forgetting something," I murmured. There was something itching in my brain. I’d been trying to grab that, but it wouldn’t come out of the back of my mind.

"What?" Danny frowned and threw his empty carton into the trash can.

I squeezed my eyes shut and jumped up and down a bit. I thought and thought and thought.

What was it? What was it? I know it. I know it.

Finally, it popped into my head!

"We have a chemistry exam tomorrow!" I screeched. I totally forgot about it.

Danny’s eyes rounded. I suppose he was in the same situation as me, too. "Oh, shit. I haven’t even turned a page yet."

"Holy mother of cows," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead.

We stared at each other for a moment and then cracked up laughing.

I doubt that I’d be able to get a good night’s sleep.